I'm a Monster
by GunsNRoses365
Summary: The anniversary of Seris's death has always been a painful time for Raven. The horrible memories of that terrible night haunt him and torture him year after year, but what happens when the pain becomes too much and he finally reaches his breaking point?


It was just after dusk in the village of Elder when Raven stepped out of the inn he and his friends were staying at. Elsword was causing quite a bit of ruckus even though Raven had told him to settle down, but most of the time whatever the elder was saying in one ear and out the other of his apprentice. Having enough of the noise Raven, decided to head out for a night walk until Elsword tired himself out or until someone in they're group knocked him out. Walking through the quiet streets the Weapon Taker made his way to Wally's Memorial bridge.

Entering his destination Raven silently observed the now peaceful bridge that was at one point crawling with bandits until the Elgang kicked Banthus and his goons out of town. Raven stared out past the bridge and looked at the beautiful moon in the sky. Normally the half Nasod would smile because he always loved the moonlit nights, however there was not even the slightest grin on his face. Not only did he want to get away from the noise, he also wanted to be alone because of a thoughts that have been filling his mind for the past few days.

A certain day was approaching, a day that Raven dreaded and feared. It would soon be the anniversary of Seris's death. Every time that painful day draws near Raven would be plagued with the horrible memories of his fiance's death. They would eat away at him and torture him relentlessly every day and every night until Raven would be consumed by the pain and lose control like he did when he was controlled by the Nasods. However, what made it worse were the things that Raven himself was now fearing.

Being accepted by Elsword and his friends was the best thing that had happened to him since Seris's tragic death. Getting to know each of them personally, Raven grew fond of them. Even though they acted childish most of the time, they all were kind towards one another and treated each other like family. Raven swore to himself that he would protect them and try to be an older brother figure to all of them.

However, this would be the first time that they would be with him during the upcoming anniversary of Seris's death, and this worried Raven greatly. He had always been alone during this painful time, but now that he was with people he cared about, he feared that he may hurt one of them. Raven didn't think he would be able to live with the guilt if he caused harm to one of his friends, even if it was an accident.

Shaking his head clear of the horrid thoughts of harming his comrades Raven found himself at peace with his thoughts. However, the peace did not last long as he began to hear something.

"_Raven."_ A voice hissed loudly.

Drawing his Sword, Raven turned around in a battle position, but there was nobody behind him.

"Who's there!?" He called out "Show yourself!"

"_It was your fault fault, Raven."_ The voice said again

The voice sounded almost demonic like whatever it belonged too wasn't human.

"Come out and face me!" Raven shouted angrilly

"_She's dead because of you."_ The voice hissed.

The voice sounded so close like it whispering into Raven's ear, yet he was alone his the only thing with him was the moon. The voice he was hearing must have been in his head. Suddenly the Weapon Take felt a sharp pain in his head. Holding his head and groaning in pain, Raven heard a familiar voice that he never thought he would hear again.

"_Raven! Help Me!"_ A Young females voice cried out

Raven gasped and his eyes went wide with shock.

"S-Seris!?"

Raven heard her cries for help and looked around, only to realize that this voice was in his head as well.

"_How can you live with yourself?" _The first voice hissed

"_Raven! Please! Don't let them kill me!" _Seris cried_._

"_Your a monster, Raven." _The first voiced hissed.

"No, no, no! Stop!" Raven's shouted wanting the voices to be silent.

Suddenly The voice of Seris screamed out as if she was harmed. Raven then remember that was her final scream when she was killed.

"No, Seris!" Raven shouted only to hear her voice again.

"_Why, Raven?"_ She asked in one of his ears

"_You let her die." _The evil voice hissed in his other ear.

The weapon taker never thought that he would be afraid of the voices in his head, especially the one of the woman that he loved, but he was absolutely terrified. Raven fell to his knees as the pain in his head began to increase. The voices did not cease their relentless verbal assault in his head. They were now speaking over one another in his ears, as the pain continued to grow.

"_How, can you live with yourself?"_

"_I thought you loved me, Raven."_

"_The bloods on your hands, Raven"_

"_How could you let me die?"_

"_You can't escape your past."_

"_How could you?"_

"_Your a monster."_

The voices continued to ring in Raven's ears and the pain he felt was unbearable. Seris's continued to ask why Raven let her while die the other voice continued to say that it was his fault she was dead and that he was a monster. Unable to take the torment anymore Raven was about to let out scream of agony until he felt a hand touch his shoulder making him jump and turn around. The voices in his head immediately ceased and the pain was now gone when he saw the person that had touched him, It was Rena.

"Raven, it's okay, it's me." She said softly.

Raven breathed heavily and there was look of fear on his face on he looked into the eyes of the young woman that looked so much like Seris. Rena had a look of concern on her face as she noticed how afraid raven looked. Raven let out several deep breaths trying to regain his composure now that the voices in his head were gone. After a moment he got back to his feet and picked his sword up before putting it back in it's sheath.

"Are you alright?" Rena asked gently yet worryingly "I've never seen you so shaken up."

It took a moment but Raven eventually responded to her question.

"Yeah," He said as his breathing was still a little erratic. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Rena knew he was lying but she also that it was probably best not to confront him right now.

"Come on, let's head back to the inn, It's getting late." Rena said to her friend.

Raven was now calm again.

"Has, Elsword, stopped causing trouble?" he asked.

"Yeah, I sang him a nice lullaby to help him sleep." Rena said with a somewhat mischievous look on her face.

Raven knew what that look meant and he arched an eyebrow at the elf girl.

"You knocked him out with one of your kicks, didn't you?" Raven asked flatly

Rena giggled a little bit and nodded.

"I sometimes find it hard to believe you are one of the most mature in the group." Raven said with a long sigh.

Rena giggled again and the two made they're way back into town to turn in for the night.

* * *

><p>As the morning sun rose in the horizon, Raven slept peacefully in his bed at the end. However, the peaceful sleep was ended when Elsword burst into his reaming, nearly kicking the door off of it's hinges.<p>

"Raven, get up!" The young knight snapped.

"Elsword, don't you know how to knock?" Raven asked grumpily and tiredly.

"We've got trouble outside." Elsword snapped once again, completely ignoring the question, and running out of the room.

Hearing the word trouble quickly snapped raven out of his sleepy state. He quickly got dressed and grabbed his sword before he ran out of the room.

Arriving outside the inn, Raven saw that it was surrounded by upset and angry villagers and merchants. Rena, Aisha, Chung, and Eve were already outside and were trying to calm down several distraught villagers.

"How could this happen?" One of the villagers asked.

"Please ma'am you have to explain to us what happened." Rena said as gently and calmly as she could

"Oi, is this how you kids repay me after all the nice armor and weapons I've given you!?" An angry Lenphard shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Um, Mr. Lenphard, we don't know what we did wrong." A worried Chung said to the angry blacksmith.

"Please, you have to help us?" Another villager begged

"Sir, we don't know what's going on?" Aisha said trying to figure out the situation.

The Elgang continued to try and get an explanation of what was wrong However there words were drowned by the deafening pleas of the village. Having enough of the chaos Raven let out an irritated sigh.

"ENOUGH!" He shouted at the top of his lungs while shooting a loud burst of fire from his Nasod arm into the air.

Both the Elgang and the villagers immediately fell silent as they all looked into the cold eyes of the Weapon Taker. The Elgang looked at Raven in shock. The half Nasod was never one to lose his temper. Raven continued to glare at the villagers as he walked down from the inn steps and joined his friends who made a spot for him in the center of they're semi circle so he could handle the situation.

"Now," Rave said much more calmly "Myself and my allies were all asleep during whatever it was that happened. So, I want one of the villager's, to step up to us, only one."

The villagers remained silent until Hoffman stepped out of the crowd and walked towards Raven.

"Alright, Hoffman," Raven said before the merchant could even utter a sound. "I want you to calmly tell us what's going on."

With a an intimidated gulp Hoffman began to explain what had happened.

"I-It's Banthus," He said as calmly as possible. "He's come back to Elder."

"Banthus?" Eve asked.

"I thought we took care of that clown?" Elsword asked. "Why would he come back here?"

"Elsword, be quiet." Rena said to the young night. "Let, Hoffman explain what's happening."

"Banthus came into the Village last night," Hoffman explained, his tone slightly more panicked. "He and his bandits Raided our stores and stole nearly all of our merchandise, but It gets worse than that. Several of his bandits into our homes as well, and they stole many personal valuables from us. When we woke up some our most precious items were gone."

"Hold on," Eve quickly said. "I can't comprehend the logic behind your explanation. You're saying that you all were asleep during the time of the robberies?"

Hoffman nodded his head.

"If you were all asleep, how do you know it was, Banthus that committed these crimes?" The Nasod girl asked.

Hoffman dug his hand into his pocked and pulled something out.

"This was found in my house this morning." He said as he revealed what was in his hand, it was a bandana.

"That definitely belonged to one of the Banthus bandits." Elsword said as he glared at the piece of cloth.

"He's right." Aisha said "We've fought enough of these idiots to know that they all wear the same type of bandana."

"Please," Hoffman begged as he dropped down to his knees. "You must find Banthus and get back all of our things."

the Elgang all looked at one another and nodded their heads to each other before looking back at Hoffman.

"Where do you think, Banthus ran off too?" Raven asked

"He's probably ran off to his hideout, Banthus cave." Hoffman said.

"Then let's get over there." Raven said to his friends.

Without another word being said the Elgang made there way from the village into the Forest where Banthus Cave was located.

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for the group to find Banthus Cave and took even less time for them to plow through the guards that were standing at the entrance. Once they were in the cave they found themselves surround by the heavier hitting bandits. However it's been months since the Elgang last defeated Banthus and they have all become a lot stronger since then. Fighting the once tough enemies was mere child's play to them now.<p>

"Fire Road!" Aisha shouted as she sent a wave of fire into several of her enemies.

"Illusion strike!' Eve shouted raining down several drones to hit the bandits that weren't hit by Aisha's magic.

"Nice hit, Eve!" Aisha cheered.

"Please focus on the battle, Aisha!" Eve said before dodging one of the attacking bandits.

Raven and Rena were back to back as they found themselves surrounded by several bandits. Turning they're heads to look at one another, Raven nodded his head at Rena who nodded back with a smirk on her face. Raven held out his Nasod arm as Rena jumped up stood on it, he then tossed her high into the air before spinning around in a circle while firing several bullets from his arm at the bandits. Almost all of them were taking out by the Weapon Takers incredible accuracy. Whoever was left after the attack was punished with an aerial attack from Rena.

"Spinning Kick!' She shouted while drilling through the last of the enemies that had surrounded them.

Rena cheered as she fought two remaining bandits.

"I knew it was good idea for you and I to make a combination attack." She said as she knocked out the two bandits.

Raven struck down a bandit as he responded to the Combat Ranger.

"Yea it-UGH!"

Raven's sentence was cut short by a sharp in his head.

"_Your a monster, Raven!"_

Raven quickly recognized the hissing voice in his head from last night.

"_She's dead because of _you._" _The voice hissed

Raven held his hurting head, completely forgetting that he was in the middle.

Rena turned around to cheer to Raven some more but she quickly grew concerned whens she saw him in the same state he was in last night. The concern quickly turned to fear when she saw a large bandit rushing towards the unsuspecting Raven.

"Raven! Behind You!" Rena screamed.

The elf girl calling his name broke Raven out of his pain for a split second he however he didn't hear what she had said to him. Luckily he was saved by Elsword who had struck the bandit away at the last second. Raven turned around and saw the red haired boy who looked back at him.

"Keep it together, Raven!" He snapped.

Raven nodded his head but once again mentally attacked with the tormenting voice.

"_You can't escape your past."_ the voice hissed.

Raven shook his head violently trying to ignore the voice in his head as he attacked more bandits.

Turning around Raven saw the last of the bandits heading his way. The Weapon Taker readied his sword to strike them down. However, the voice in his head once again hindered him.

"_The blood is on your hands, Raven." _

"Leave me, ALONE!" Raven screamed having enough of the voice.

Losing his temper he slammed his Nasod arm into the ground making a massive earthquake which had luckily knocked out the last of the bandits.

The Elgang heard Raven scream and they all turned they're heads to the usually calm Weapon Taker. Looking up, Raven saw everyone looking at him somewhat concernedly and he quickly calmed down.

"Let's go," He said trying to avoid a confrontation about what had just happened "Banthus, has to be up ahead."

* * *

><p>Running down the long tunnel in front of them, The Elgang eventually found themselves at the center of the hideout where Banthus and several large club wielding bandits stood waiting for them.<p>

"You knew we were coming, Banthus," Elsword said as he drew his sword. "Now surely you know what happens next."

A smirk was on the Banthus's face

"You know I'm getting pretty tired of constantly having to deal with you brats." He said

"Cut the crap, Banthus!" Aisha shouted. "Give us back everything you stole from the villagers and merchants!"

The smirk did not leave Banthus's face.

"You want it all? Well then come and get it!" Banthus shouted as he drew his blade.

Everyone charged forward ready to attack. Raven was about attack Banthus head on but quickly stopped when he felt another surge of pain in his head followed by the screams of Seris. Raven stopped and fell to his knees unable to take the pain he felt as Seris's screams of pain echoed loudly in his mind. Chung looked back and saw Raven and grew worried about him.

"Sir Raven, are you-"

Chung was cut off by Banthus's large fist connecting with jaw sending him flying backwards and knocking him unconcious.

"You think you brats who have gotten stronger?" Banthus asked confidently. "Well guess what! I've gotten stronger too!"

Banthus jumped into the air and drove his sword into the ground making four large waves which were able to send all of the Elgang flying backwards, everyone except for Raven. The half Nasod who was now struggling to stop the screams of his dead fiance in his mind all why trying to focus on Banthus.

The unconscious Chung was being tended to by Rena. Everyone else was dazed by the new found strength of the bandit leader. None of them seemed to noticed Raven who was suffering from the torture of hearing the deafening screams of his beloved Seris when she was murdered by the Velder soldiers.

Looking up Raven's vision became blurry from the agonizing pain he felt but he was able to make out large figure of Banthus. The bandit leader smiled sinisterly at Raven and made a motion with his hand for him to come and get him. However the suffering Weapon Taker couldn't fight with the screams of Seris's torturing him.

Memories of that terrible night came crashing back to him like a violent wave. The memories of Seris being killed and him being forced to watch. He could remember holding her dead body and screaming her name into the black night. He remembered pursuing the soldiers with every intention of killing them while Seris's screams of pain echoed in his ears.

Looking back at Banthus, Raven no longer saw the leader of the Bandits or his goons that he was fighting when he came to the cave. Instead, he saw the faces of the Velder soldiers that had killed Seris that night long ago, all while his fiances screams continued to echo in his mind.

"You," Raven hissed in a menacing tone as he pointed a finger on his Nasod arm at Banthus who was a little bit surprised at the Weapon Taker's sudden change in demeanor.

"**YOU TOOK, SERIS AWAY FROM ME!"** Raven screamed in rage as rushed towards the bandits and their leader.

Banthus was shocked at the half nasod's incredible speed. He tried to swing his sword at him but was to late as Raven was able to swing his sword faster. Banthus was able to block Raven's strike but the Weapon Taker swung again and was to knock Banthus's sword out of his hand. Raven the kicked Banthus in the ribs aggressively and violently. Banthus fell to the ground with the wind knocked out of him.

With a crazed look in his eye Raven focused on the other bandits, but in his eyes, they were Velder soldiers that taken the one he loved away from him. The bandits saw the demented look and became completely terrified.

"**ARRRRRRRGH!"** Raven shouted as he went into overheat mode.

Several bandits screamed out in terror as they saw his body become engulfed in flames. Some of the Bandits begged for mercy, Raven granted them none.

"**HELLFIRE GATTLING!"** he screamed in fury.

With his Nasod arm, Raven shot out the biggest fireballs that he had ever created which effectively blasted away every bandit in sight as well as many of the large stalagmites growing in the cave.

Banthus saw this powerful and was now scared of the enraged Raven. He then saw the eyes of the Weapon Taker look in his direction.

"Oh, Mother of God!" Banthus shouted in terror.

Raven began to charge towards Banthus. The bandit leader ran for his life, knowing that he couldn't fight the man chasing him.

"**POWER ASSAULT!"** Raven screamed as he violently rammed himself into the Banthus's back

Banthus screamed out in pain as he fell to the ground unable to move. Raven had no doubt broken his back with his attack. Forcing the now defenseless thief to onto his back, Raven looked down into the terrified eyes of Banthus.

However in his eyes he didn't see Banthus, no, he saw something far worse. In his eyes' raven was looking down into the terrified of the soldier that drove they're blade into Serris, ending her life.

With a primal scream raven began to rain down a wave of fierce punches and kicks into the body of Banthus who screamed in pain.

The rest of the Elgang had finally come back to they're senses after that Banthus had done at the start of the fight. However, when they looked up they were shocked at what they were witnessing. They saw Banthus being nearly beaten to death by a crazed Raven who looked like he was intending to kill him.

"Whoa, Raven! Take it easy!" Elsword called out worryingly only for his words to fall on deaf ears.

Everyone in the Elgang looked on in total disbelief they had no idea what had been awoken inside of Raven.

"That's Enough, Raven! You've defeated him!" Eve shouted out.

Rena who had taken the unconscious Chung outside to a safe place had returned to the cave, only to become fraught with worry when she saw Raven.

"What's happening!?" She shouted worryingly.

"I don't know, but Raven has completely snapped!" Elsword said to the elf girl.

The Weapon Taker grabbed Banthus by his throat with his Nasod arm and lifted him into the air, while chocking him

"Raven, Stop!" Aisha shouted.

Raven now seething grabbed his sword ready to stab down the soldier he saw in his eyes.

"No, Please! Have mercy!" Banthus begged.

"**YOU DIDN'T SHOW, SERIS MERCY! SO WHY SHOULD I SHOW IT TO YOU!?" **Raven shouted at the top of his lungs.

Raven pulled his sword back ready to drive into the heart of Banthus however he was blasted away from the Bandit by five fireball and was sent crashing into a wall. Looking back to see who attacked him. He saw someone standing in front of Banthus, it was Aisha!

"Aisha, what are you doing are you crazy!?" Elsword shouted at the girl.

However she didn't hear a word the young swordsman said. Instead she looked into the psychotic eyes of Raven.

Raven, stop!" She shouted in almost begging manner. "Don't kill him! He's not worth it!"

However Raven was no longer in his right mind. In his eyes, he didn't see the young girl he considered a little sister, all he saw in front of him was another Velder soldier. Even though Aisha was only trying to calm Raven down she didn't know that the mentally tortured Weapon Taker saw her as his enemy, and she was going to pay the price.

With a roar of anger and his Nasod arm raised, Raven rushed towards Aisha ready to attack. The young magician tried to teleport herself out of the way but she had ran out of time. Getting nose to nose with Aisha, Raven drove his Nasod arm deep into her back and and slashed downward. Aisha screamed in pain and agony as Raven grabbed by her hair and threw across the cave into a wall.

"Aisha!" The Elgang screamed in unison as the magician writhed in pain.

Breathing heavily the changed Raven rushed towards Aisha with his sword raised. Aisha looked up with tears in her eyes and screamed in terror when she saw Raven closing in on her with his sword coming down. However the blow did not come. Looking up the young Magician saw Elsword standing in front of her, holding back ravens sword with his own.

"Raven, what are you doing!?" Elsword shouted angrilly.

Once again all Raven saw was another Velder soldier and not the boy he had taken on as an apprentice. Raven jumped back and tried to strike Elsword but the young knight blocked his strike and quickly countered with one of his own forcing his changed friend backwards. Raven shot a blast of fire form his Nasod arm at Elsword only for him to dodge it.

"Fatal Fury!" Elsword shouted as he charged at Raven.

The half Nasod tried to block the incoming attack with his sword but Elsword was able to knock the blade away before slashing five strikes on Raven followed by a powerful swing of his blade knocking his mentor of his feet and onto the ground.

Hitting the ground hard Raven laid dizzy and dazed and the screams of Seris faded away into silence. The room was silent as the half Nasod laid on the ground and began to come back to his senses. The only thing that could be heard was his groans of pain as well as the crackling if fire from the torches in the cave.

* * *

><p>Sitting up, Raven shook his head as felt a course of pain surge through his body. His vision was momentarily blurry and unclear as he began to get to his feet.<p>

"Huh? What happened?" Raven asked as his vision finally cleared.

Looking around Raven's eyes became wide when he saw Aisha on the ground whimpering and whining as she was being tended to by Rena who had her arms wrapped around her.

"Aisha, what happened? are you al-"

Raven was cut by a glaring Elsword jumping in front of the injured girl with his sword raised and Eve standing beside him in a fighting position.

"Stay away from her!" Elsword hissed angrilly.

"Elsword, what's going on?" Raven asked worryingly as he stepped a little closer only for the boy in front of him to point his sword at his neck.

"Look what you did!" The red haired night shouted angrilly as he pointed to the scared injured girl behind him. "You hurt Aisha!"

The words that left Elsword's mouth made Raven fall deathly silent.

"I-I did what?" He gasped.

"You nearly killed, Banthus, and you were going to kill, Aisha!" Eve said to him "What were you thinking, Raven!?"

"I-I-" Raven stuttered as he dropped his sword to the ground.

Looking behind him the Weapon Taker saw Banthus laying on the ground unconscious but he was covered in bruises and was slightly twitching. He did that to him? He then looked back at Aisha who was whimpering and whining in Rena's arms as she looked at him with wide tear filled eyes full of fear. Raven had never seen her like that before, and he was the one that had made her like that?

He then looked at her back and saw the giant scratch the was created on her as the blood slowly flowed from the scratch, staining the back of her dress and dropping onto the ground.

"N-no," Raven uttered in a tone that was barely above a whisper. "I-I couldn't have,"

Looking at his Nasod arm he blood on the edge his claw.

"I-I did hurt her." He gasped as he stared at his hand with wide eyes.

Looking up, he saw Rena staring at him with sadness and Worry and Aisha looking at him in like he was a demon. He then saw Elsword lower his weapon and look at him sadly yet angrilly and then at Eve who closed her eyes and looked away. His worst fears had come true even though it was by accident he had hurt his friends that had sworn to protect.

"A-Aisha, I-"

Raven cut himself off as the girl looked at him with wide eyes full of pain and fear. His eyes now mirrored hers as he realized what he had done.

"Everyone, I-I-"

Raven's guilty heart and mind began to way down on him, he felt like he couldn't breath. There was no way he could apologize for his actions. Stepping backwards the Weapon Taker tripped over a rock behind and fell down. He then saw Rena who was getting to her feet and walking towards him.

"I-I'm a monster." Raven whispered shakily.

"Raven-" Rena said to him softly as she reached an arm out for him.

"No! Stay away from me!" He shouted making her back away from him a little bit in surprise.

Rena then saw something that she had never seen from Raven since she had met him. She saw tears stinging the edges of his eyes.

"I'm a monster." He said to her in a broken voice.

Getting to his feet he ran as fast as he could deeper into one of the caves tunnels.

"Raven, Wait!" Rena called out only to hear her voice echo off the walls.

Feeling nothing but worried about her friend, she ran after him.

* * *

><p>The tunnel seemed endless it felt like Rena had been running for hours and there was no sign of Raven anywhere. Her only company was the glowing crystals that grew in the tunnel as well as her worried thoughts about Raven. She had never seen him get so out of control like he was a few minutes ago. The anger, and the fury that she felt coming from him was an unwelcoming feeling that made her hair stand on end. What he was like afterwords made her feel even worse she head never seen looked so sad or scared of himself and she had certainly never seen him cry. She knew that something was off about him since last night and she was going to find out what had happened to her friend.<p>

Finally reaching the end of the tunnel, Rena saw raven sitting in front of a beautiful waterfall completely lost in his own sorrowful thoughts.

"What have I done?" Raven asked himself as he tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill. "How could I hurt, Aisha?"

Pounding his fist into the ground Raven began to verbally abuse himself.

"I really am a monster! I've hurt my friends! I've tried to atone for my sins of the past but I will never be able to atone for what I did to, Aisha."

The guilt stricken Weapon Taker closed his eyes and screamed into the air.

"**WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?" **

Breathing heavily the half Nasod was startled when he felt a soft and gentle hand touch his shoulder.

Turning around he looked up and saw the beautiful yellow green eyes of Rena staring down at him.

"Nothing is wrong with you." She said gently to him with a soft smile on her face.

Raven gently brought her hand away from his shoulder.

"Please, Rena, leave me," He said quietly "I'm too dangerous to be around."

Rena said nothing in response. Instead she sat down beside the Weapon Taker.

"I'm not going to leave." Rena said to him softly. "I think you could use a little company."

"No, Rena!" Raven suddenly shouted, startling the Combat Ranger.

Getting to his feet he began to back away from the elf girl. "I can't be around any of you after what I did to, Aisha."

Rena looked at Raven sadly as she got to her feet to go over to him and comfort him.

"Raven-" She said softly as she tried to put her hand back on his shoulder.

"Stop, Rena!" He said as he pushed her hand away. "I don't deserve your kindness, I've betrayed you all."

"Raven, please listen to me." Rena said in almost begging manner. "When I was helping Aisha after what happened, I told her that it was an accident. I told her that you didn't mean to hurt her. I knew you weren't in your right mind."

"It may have been an accident, but I still pulled the trigger." Raven responded "I lost control, and I nearly killed Aisha. Even if I didn't mean to hurt her I still did and I can't ask for her forgiveness."

Falling to his knees Raven once more fought back the tears that formed in his eyes. However Rena stood in front of him before kneeling down and finally resting her comforting hand on his shoulder. Looking into her caring eyes Raven finally let his tears flow free. He was never one to show his emotions to people, but there was something about Rena's loving and caring personality that made him feel safe to show his emotions.

"I feared that what I did to all of you would happen." Raven said quietly

"What are you talking about?" Rena asked curiously.

"Seris," Raven responded "The anniversary of her death is coming up and I'm not the man I should be. This would be the first time you all would be with me and I was afraid that I would hurt one of you." Raven looked down and closed his eyes. "and I did."

Rena looked at Raven sadly and rubbed his shoulder as the Weapon Taker once again took her hand off of his shoulder. He then stood up and grabbed his sword.

"What I did to Aisha and to all of you can't be forgiven." He said as he held his sword high in the air.

"Raven, what are you doing with your sword!?" Rena asked in a scared tone of voice, her words getting louder and louder.

"I'm making sure I never hurt any of you again!" He said as he aimed the sword towards his chest.

It didn't take even a second for Rena to put the pieces together and Immediately grab ravens arm. Rena proved to be surprisingly strong as she held back Raven from driving his sword into his heart.

"Raven, stop! Don't do this!" She shouted. As she struggled to hold his arm in place.

"I'm too dangerous to be left alive!" Raven shouted.

"No, you're not dangerous!" Rena shouted in response as tears started to fall from her eyes. "You can't kill yourself! You don't deserve such a fate!"

"Let go, Rena!" Raven shouted back as he inched the blade closer and closer to him. "You know that I'm dangerous and can't be trusted!"

"Lies!" She shouted "They're is nobody else who I trust more than you!"

Raven continued to struggled as Rena began to cry. She couldn't bear the thought of one of her friends die, especially if she was watching them die and she couldn't do anything to help save them.

"Please, Raven!" She cried "You can't leave us! What about the others!? I know they're strong and capable of anything, but they're all still just kids! They need us more than they think they do!"

"They don't need someone like me!' Raven responded as he finally brought the blade a little bit closer to him. "I betrayed Elsword, Eve, and Chung!"

"No!" Rena cried "You didn't betray them!"

"I hurt Aisha! She was scared of me!" Raven said as the blade was now more inches away from his chest.

"You didn't mean to hurt her!" Rena cried

"I'm a monster!" Raven shouted.

"**YOU'RE NOT A MONSTER!"** Rena screamed at the top of her lungs.

With amazing new found strength the Combat Ranger overpowered the Weapon Taker and flung his sword out of his hand, sending it a few feet away from them. She then tackled him to the ground and wrapped her arms around his neck before burying her face into his chest and crying uncontrollably.

Raven was stunned at Rena's actions. She had never seen her so distraught and upset. He knew she would be upset if he took his own life but he didn't think she would be this hysterical at the mere thought of him killing himself.

"Raven," Rena sobbed into his chest "You're not a monster, you've done bad things in the past, but you're doing everything in your power to make things right. Just because you strayed off the path of good for a moment doesn't make you a monster. I know you feel bad about what you did to Aisha, but you know you didn't mean to hurt her I know you know that."

Raven looked down at Rena sadly even when he didn't want her to be near him, if she was sad, he had to comfort her. It wasn't like her to be sad she was always tried to stay happy and cheerful and he couldn't stand to see her cry.

"It was my fault, Aisha got hurt, Rena," Raven said as he held the girl in his lap close to him. "Just like it was my fault that Seris is dead."

Hearing his dead fiance's name made raven look up into Raven's eyes.

"Is that why you were so scared last night, and why you were so angry today, because you blame yourself for what happened to Seris?"

Raven let go of the Combat Ranger and let out a shaky sigh, which meant yes. Without warning, Rena wrapped her arms back around Raven and stroked softly up and down his back. Even it was awkward and unnecessary, she didn't care, she felt that Raven needed to be hugged.

"It was my fault she's dead, Rena, I let her be killed, while I sat there and watched her die." Raven said sadly.

"Shh.." Rena hushed "Raven, you told what had happened to Seris a few weeks after you met us. It wasn't your fault that she died. We all know that you would have done anything to save her life."

"Then why couldn't I, Rena?" Raven asked as he began to quietly sob "Why couldn't I save her? I know I could have found a way. I promised her that I would always protect her. How am I supposed to atone for that broken promise?"

Rena remained silent as she listened to Raven quietly cry. It was rare that Raven cried, and much more rare that he cried in front of someone else. A small, and soft smile formed on Rena's face. She found it rather cute and welcoming to see a different emotion from Raven instead of anger. Thinking about his question, she came up with the perfect truthful answer.

"I think by protecting us is the way you're atoning." She said softly as she continued to rub and down Raven's back.

"What do you mean?" Raven asked curiously.

"Think about it," Rena said. "We've been in more dangerous situations than anyone should ever have to be in, and in every last situation you were always there to protect us."

Raven let Rena's words sink in as she let him go and stood up. She then held out his hand, which he took after a moment of hesitance. As she helped him get to his feet she looked at him with a soft smile on her face.

"I think you're protecting us as if you were protecting, Seris." She continued "I think you care about all of us just as much as you cared about her. So you fight with all your strength and heart to protect us. You protect us because you care about us and would do anything to keep us safe."

A small yet smile now formed on Ravens face as he looked into the caring eyes of Rena.

"But you know," She said "We aren't the only ones that need protecting."

Without hesitation the Combat Ranger wrapped her arms back around the Weapon Taker.

"Sometimes we should be the ones protecting you." She said to him. "Raven, we all care about you and we're going to be there to help you get through this tough time. You've always been there for us as if you were a light of hope, now it's our turn to be your light of hope."

The smile on Raven's face grew larger when her Rena's touching words.

"Rena, thank you." He said softly as he wrapped his arms around her.

The two eventually broke the hug. Looking back up to Raven, the elf girl placed a hand on his cheek making the him blush a little bit.

"Raven can you promise me something?" She asked sweetly as the half Nasod nodded his head in response. "Promise me that you'll never call yourself a monster again, or try to kill yourself."

"Raven closed his and nodded his head.

"I promise."

"What!?" A voice suddenly shouted out startling both Rena and Raven. "Sir Raven, you tried to kill yourself!?"

"Chung!?" Rena and Raven asked in unison.

Looking behind they saw the young boy who had been knocked unconscious standing at the entrance to where they were, but he wasn't alone."

"Yep, Chung here finally decided to come back to the land of the living." Another voice said.

Standing beside Chung was Elsword who was smiling and waving as well as Eve who was standing on the other side of Chung.

"Once he recover he we explained what happened and he came running here." The Nasod girl explained in her usual calm tone of voice.

"Wait! where's, Aisha!?" Rena asked worryingly.

As soon as the magicians name was said, the sound several small rocks echoed through the cave. Turning to the source of the sound, the Elgang saw Aisha nervously come out from behind a large stalagmite. Rena smiled at the girl while Raven tried his best not to look at her in the eyes.

"How long were you standing there?" Rena asked

"I followed you down the tunnel and then teleported behind the stalagmite when I saw you both." Aisha explained.

While Rena continued to smile at her, Aisha eyes and thoughts were focused on the man beside her. Trying but failing to not look at Aisha, Raven finally gave up and looked into her eyes and she could tell his were full of gilt for what he had done to her.

"Aisha," Raven said sadly "I am so sorry for hurting you."

Everyone in the cave fell silent as the magician and the weapon taker both stared at each other. Tears soon began to form in the eyes of Aisha. Raven felt even worse when he saw the tears. However what happened next surprised him. As her tears flowed, Aisha ran towards Raven before tackling him in a hug. He could hear her softly crying into his chest.

"I heard everything Rena said, I forgive you." She cried "I also saw what you tried to do to yourself." The magician tear filled eyes looked into Raven's. "Please, don't ever don't ever try to kill yourself again."

Aisha put her head against ravens and she continued to cry. The Weapon Taker looked at Rena and then all of his friends who were smiling at him. He then wrapped his arms around Aisha.

"Don't worry, Aisha," He softly to her "I won't ever try that again."

Elsword, Eve, and Chung all continued to smile at the scene in front of him.

"I guess this is what you humans call a "heartwarming moment." The Nasod girl said.

"Yeah, it is." Chung said.

"Eh, I always found these kinds of things boring." Elsword said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Insolence!" Eve shouted as she slapped the red haired boy across the face. "Don't ruin it!"

_**Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed my story. This is my first Elsword fanfic so I hope it was enjoyable. I apologize for any grammar errors you may find. I hope to write more stories in the future. :)**_


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